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6.6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Bishop Misbehaves remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a soft spot for 1930s British comedy and don't mind a plot that feels like it was scribbled on a napkin, sure. It is harmless, cozy, and perfectly fine for a rainy afternoon. If you need something with teeth, or even just a coherent sense of stakes, you will probably be bored stiff within twenty minutes.
Edmund Gwenn is clearly having the time of his life here. He plays the Bishop with this wide-eyed, frantic energy that makes you wish the script gave him something better to do than just walk into doorways. He really sells the whole 'amateur detective' bit.
The premise involves a heist, but nobody seems to take the danger seriously. It feels less like a crime movie and more like a parlor game played by people who forgot the rules. There is a scene in a pub that goes on for ages, and honestly, the background extras seem more interested in the camera than the supposed robbery happening three feet away.
It is definitely not as heavy as something like I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, and thank goodness for that. Sometimes you just want to see a guy in a clerical collar try to solve a crime while everyone around him acts like a total buffoon. It’s light, it’s fluffy, and it leaves your head the second the credits roll.
There is this one shot where a character walks across the background and just... trips. It wasn’t a gag, it wasn’t scripted, they just left it in. I watched it three times. It’s the most human moment in the whole film. 🎥
You can tell the studio wanted a hit, but the whole thing feels like a dress rehearsal that got filmed by mistake. It isn’t bad. It’s just... there. Like furniture. Nice, vintage furniture that you don’t really use.